KUALA LUMPUR: National men's singles shuttler Leong Jun Hao is definitely walking on thin ice after failing to clear yet another qualifying round this season.
On Tuesday, the former Asian junior champion crashed out of the Spain Masters in Madrid, following a 21-17, 21-19 defeat to Denmark's Magnus Johannesen in the second qualifying round match.
In the first match, Jun Hao, who also failed to make the main draw of the Thailand Masters in January, was stretched for more than an hour, before carving out a 19-21, 21-19, 21-19 win over Taiwan's Chi Yu Jen.
Independent shuttler Soong Joo Ven was the first Malaysian casualty in the qualifying round after losing 19-21, 29-27, 21-16 to Johannesen.
The Dane will play homester, Luis Enrique Penalver, in the first round on Wednesday.
Also, crashing out in the qualifying round were independent men's doubles Goh V Shem-Lim Khim Wah.
The 2014 Malaysia Open champions, well past their prime, went down in three games 21-19, 15-21, 21-18 to Danish duo Andreas Sondergaard-Jesper Toft.